A Comprehensive Study on the Revised Texts and Annotations of Tsujisho, the Manuscripts Written by Ryukyu Interpreters

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 24520394
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Literatures/Literary theories in other countries and areas
• Research Institution: Kyoto University
• Principal Investigator: KIZU YUKO 京都大学, 文学研究科, 教授 (90242990)
• Project Period (FY): 2012-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: 官話 / 通事 / 琉球 / 写本 / 長崎 / 荻生徂徠 / 清代 / 唐話

Outline of Final Research Achievements

First, in this research project, Mandarin Chinese (Guanhua) textbooks, which were written by Ryukyu interpreters in the Qing dynasty (1636-1911), were collected from various libraries in Japan. These texts and explanatory notes were analyzed and annotated. Then, they were converted to electronic data for further academic research. The examination of these textbooks clarified that two families of Zheng and Cai were very important among Ryukyu interpreters. The evidences of their Chinese learning could be traced in the existing manuscripts. Two kinds of textbooks for learning Mandarin Chinese were compared: one was used in Ryuku and another was in Nagasaki. This analysis revealed that they had been different with respect to linguistic identities as well as the learning contents. Second, how was in practice "Kiyou no gaku" (Chinese studies of Nagasaki interpreters), which was named by Sorai Ogyu in Edo era, were investigated in terms of methodology for learning foreign languages.

Free Research Field

中国語学中国文学